How long can Kaopectate cause black stool that sometimes "oozes" into underwear? Any cause for concern? Should I see doctor or is it just the kao?
Pepto-Bismol - Still Black stool after kaopectate 4 days ago. Any cause of concern?
Question posted by ausmac10301 on 25 Oct 2011
Last updated on 26 October 2011
Answers
Thor283
25 Oct 2011
I'm pretty sure Kaopectate and Pepto are the same thing, nowadays. Check the Active Ingredients. With any OTC meds, always look at Active Ingredients. That will tell you what is in it.
It's very normal for Pepto to turn stool Black. However, it's not so great to have liquid oozing out of you. But unfortunately, that is a wds. So in addition to Pepto take Imodium. In some areas it's back ordered, so you may have to buy either a generic, or the liquid. I have even been buying the 2 tabs in a little packet.
When you decide to eat, try eating rice. I always liked Fried Rice. Rice binds up most people. So I highly recommend this.
Good Luck.
DzooBaby
25 Oct 2011
No-kaopectate is kaolin and pectin and pepto-bismol is bismuth subsalicylate. Very different drugs.
DzooBaby
25 Oct 2011
The rice is a good idea but so is bananas. I used to give my kids bananas when they had diarrhea back when they were little. It does work. Another thing many people dont think of is fiber like metamucil or citrucel. It works by bulking stools so it will work for both constipation AND diarrhea. Immodium usually is better for diarrhea than kaopectate or pepto although the Immodium doesnt soothe the stomach as well as pepto does. I also like Gaviscon for soothing a sour or sick stomach. Oozing stools is not pleasant. i didnt realize this was a withdrawal issue but black stools to me is always a red flag for internal bleeding but Pepto will make black stools-so will grape juice and iron tabs.
DzooBaby
25 Oct 2011
We used to be taught the BRAT diet for diarrhea- bananas, rice, applesauce and tea/toast. Be sure you are staying well hydrated if your stools are this loose. You lose a lot of electrolytes when you have diarrhea.
Thor283
25 Oct 2011
Hey Dzoo,
Maybe Kaopectate comes in 2 different formulations nowadays. I'll tell you why. Some years ago Kaopectate was kaolin & Pectin, as you said. I even had an Earth Science teacher that told us basically Kaopectate is clay, and that's why it works the way it does. That made sense to me. Because I always found that if you drink enough of it, everything inside you finally becomes solidified. And that could take almost a whole bottle, if you had very bad IBS. Pepto works in a different way.
It's just occurring to me this person didn't say this is a wds, I just assumed it, because the way he/she described this has happened to me as a wds. I had come off a very high dose of pain meds, and what was coming out wasn't anything like a stool. It was just black liquid, and oozing is a great way to describe it. I never tried those other things for foods, for this condition. So I just ate fried rice. It worked.
So now this all happened last Winter. The Kaopectate I had was a few years old. After I took it the Kao didn't have the Kaolin taste. So I looked at the label. Sure enough is said bismuth subsalicylate. I had Pepto and I compared. It was the same thing. It was cherry flavored Kaopectate, but I don't see why that should matter. I was very disappointed. Having suffered with IBS most of my life I know a few things about uncontrollable diarrhea. I know there are times bismuth subsalicylate works best, and there are other times, the clay like Kaolin and Pectin work best. Last year was a time for the Kaolin and Pectin. Because all the bismuth subsalicylate did was turn the liquid black. It may have slowed it down a little, but not much. I think I finally took 18 mg of Imodium at once, and that stopped it awhile. But the only long lasting cure came when I went back on Bupe. It still took several days. But finally I was ok again.
I have a small pharmacy across the street, and they only had 1 or 2 other bottles of Kao. I checked them and they also had bismuth subsalicylate in them. I never really checked in CVS or large supermarkets. I certainly hope the original Kao is still made. It was good stuff.
When was the last time you bought some of the original formula? The one with bismuth subsalicylate was purchased in 2007 or 08.
DzooBaby
25 Oct 2011
I'm confused. Are you taking Pepto-Bismol or Kaopectate, or both? Pepto-Bismol will turn your stools black for a few days. Kaopectate should not. Black stools can also be a sign of bleeding in the digestive tract. You might go off the meds for a few days and see if the stools go back to their normal color, if not then you should see the Dr for an occult stool test to test for blood in the stools.
See also:
https://www.drugs.com/mtm/pepto-bismol.html
https://www.drugs.com/mtm/kaopectate.html
litlmommag
26 Oct 2011
Dzoobaby I was gonna say the same about the blood but wanted to add high iron in the bdy can slao cause it as well. Jaime
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